Today’s Solutions: November 02, 2024

We all know that cardiovascular exercise can help lower blood pressure, but did you know that breathing exercises can offer the same benefits? A study from the Journal of American Heart Association found that a strategic five-minute breathing exercise is as effective as medication or exercise for lowering blood pressure.

Called Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training, or IMST, the breathing exercise requires breathing through a device that restricts your inhale, prompting you to breathe more forcefully. The technique was initially developed to strengthen lung capacity for patients with asthma and other respiratory challenges. During the study, 18 adults with elevated blood pressure breathed through an IMST device for five minutes, six days a week. 18 other adults did a placebo breathing exercise.

After six weeks, the researchers found that IMST breathing reduced the group’s systolic blood pressure by an average of nine points. They also had a 45 percent increase in vascular endothelial function, the arteries’ ability to expand when necessary. Lead study author Daniel Craighead, Ph.D. said, “We found not only is [high resistance IMST] more time-efficient than traditional exercise programs, the benefits may be longer-lasting.”

Although the breathing exercise was highly effective, the researchers note that it should not substitute for exercise or medication, as those offer other additional benefits, but rather complement them for improved results.

Source study: Journal of American Heart Association – Take a Deep, Resisted, Breath

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This heartwarming Danish ad breaks down the ‘Us vs Them’ narrative

It’s rare that we publish a story about an advertisement, but then again it’s rare that an ad stirs so much emotion within its ...

Read More

NOAHs: Charlotte has a formula for long-lasting affordable housing

We recently shared how empty retail space could be the solution to California’s affordable housing crisis. Across the country in North Carolina, the city ...

Read More

A seat at the table for underrepresented communities

Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So ...

Read More

Expanding democracy: Michigan opens new doors for formerly incarcerated voters

Malijah Gee's path from incarceration at the age of 17 to imminent freedom reflects the longing for a voice that has been suppressed for 36 years. ...

Read More